A freak accident killed her teenage son in July last year – but there can be no closure for Marie Roux.
After inhaling gas fumes from a leaking geyser, 18-year-old Brandon lost consciousness while in the bath and then drowned.
Marie was left with the unthinkable task of telling Brandon’s biological father their son was dead – but she doesn’t know how to contact him.
“It’s almost a year later and the fact that I haven’t been able to tell his dad about it is almost as tragic as my son’s death,” she told YOU.
“That’s why I have to keep looking for him.”
Brandon had been a popular pupil at Upington High School. The body of the aspiring rugby player was found at about 6pm on 7 July 2017 by his stepdad, Jacques, in one of the houses on a friend’s farm near Askham in the Kalahari.
The body of his fox terrier dog was also found outside the bathroom door. Police suspect the dog had been trying to get to Brandon when he’d also passed out.
Jacques started worrying when he couldn’t get a hold of Brandon on his cellphone. He’d called the family friend whose farm Brandon had been visiting, after which the boy’s body was found in the bath tub.
Marie says Brandon was five years old when her marriage to his father, Barend “Ben” Coetzee, ended in divorce.
“Brandon never had contact with his father again after the divorce,” she says.
According to Marie it had always been a dream of Brandon’s to find his biological father.
“This thing haunts me. I don’t think he even knows his son is dead. I’m trying to find him to tell him what happened to Brandon.”
• Barend “Ben” Petrus Coetzee grew up in Kimberley and later lived in Carletonville. He used to be a truck driver. Anyone who has any idea of his whereabouts can email Marie at mhj.roux@gmail.com.